Debating the Facts? - Keynote Guido Imbens (Nobel laureate)

There is debate raging across all fields of Science on the replicability/reproducibility of scientific studies. Recent studies show that there is sizeable variability in outcomes of empirical research across researchers, even if they use the same data to estimate the same object. In a sense, there is 'a researcher fixed effect' in terms of picking the 'best' analysis path that leads to additional and typically unincorporated uncertainty in estimated effects.

The Academy organises a symposium on the topic with a keynote speech by Guido Imbens (Nobel laureate, Stanford and foreign member of the Academy).

The work by Imbens and Angrist, in particular, is credited with catalysing the 'credibility revolution' in empirical microeconomics. These methods are now being used across many disciplines, such as political science, sociology, and economics, and are of broader relevance.
The program further features talks by experts across various disciplines and will be concluded with a panel discussion. The audience will be encouraged to participate in this discussion.

The type of questions that will discussed during the symposium are:

• Is the debate on replicability/reproducibility focusing on the right issues?
• Will the arrival of AI further complicate fact finding, because it adds yet another set of analysis paths?
• How to discipline a debate where all participants arrive with their own facts?
• How do we prepare the next generation of researchers to steer Science in the right direction? Should we change graduate programs?

Programme

• 12.30 p.m. - 1.00 p.m. – Registration and coffee/tea
• 1.00 p.m. - 1.30 p.m. – Anna Dreber (Behavioral economist, Stockholm School of Economics)
• 1.30 p.m. - 2.00 p.m. – Eric-Jan Wagemakers (Mathematical psychologist, Universiteit van Amsterdam)
• 2.00 p.m. - 2.30 p.m. – Naomi Ellemers (Social psychologist, Universiteit Utrecht)
• 2.30 p.m. - 3.15 p.m. – Coffee/tea break
• 3.15 p.m. - 3.30 p.m. – Commentary by Member of the KNAW Society of Arts on interpreting sheet music
• 3.30 p.m. - 4.15 p.m. – Keynote by Guido Imbens (Econometrician, Stanford University)
• 4.15 p.m. - 5.30 p.m. – Panel discussion with all speakers on the podium
• 5.30 p.m. - 7.00 p.m. – Drinks